Obama casts presidential spotlight on NY, its governor

President Barack Obama's visit to the SUNY Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering Tuesday brought well-deserved attention from the White House to a successful sector of upstate New York.

"This school and this community represent the future of our economy," Obama said, offering a presidential imprimatur that reaches all the way into the Rochester region, home to the nanoscale college's Center for Excellence in Canandaigua.

With New York emerging as the global epicenter of nanoscale technology, Obama's visit highlights the importance the industry plays to the region, and the nation, in terms of economic development and jobs.

"Twenty-first century jobs are being driven back to New York state," agreed Paul Tolley, who oversees operations at the Canandaigua facility.

And the local center is poised to provide them, having been designated just last month by the federal government as a "trusted foundry," putting it in line for contracts from the Pentagon, federal agencies and foreign allies.

Tolley, who attended Tuesday's speech and met Obama afterward, said presidential focus on the advanced technologies the centers perform is likely to drive private investment, which has already been strong.

In fact, the Canandaigua facility on Route 332 - site of the former Infotonics Technology Center - is all but full, employing approximately 125 and looking to fill a few more technical engineering openings. "With these jobs," said Tolley, "there's no recession."

Upstate isn't all advanced engineering and 21st century jobs, of course. Neither Obama nor Gov. Andrew Cuomo can forget that there are many other segments of New York's diverse economy that are still hurting.

By the way, Cuomo was right to note that "the president has been coming to Albany so much, the rest of the state is going to get jealous."

Indeed, after Obama's third visit to the Albany area, Rochester deserves its first.